Former detective: If we want to make a dent in the opioid epidemic, we need to put street dealers in jail. But nobody's talking about that.

Opiate-based drugs, illegal and legal, are wreaking havoc in Arizona. Lots of talk and demand for action. But what’s missing from the emotional and political discussion is an objective discussion about effective and aggressive law enforcement.

No one is talking about the need to go after the street dealers, even if they’re addicts selling drugs to support their own addiction.

We're too focused on catching big fish

For far too long the focus of law enforcement has been on the “big bust” and large seizures of assets, especially cash. Big press conferences with law enforcement officials and politicians taking a bow and boasting of their accomplishment has done nothing to slow the growing problem of narcotics on the streets.

Much of the current focus has been on the abuse of the system by pharmaceutical giants, doctors and pharmacists, but the selling of opiates at the street level is also driving the overdose and crime problems.

Addicts steal and commit crime to survive. All the talk about treatment, education, data collection and Narcan is all well and good, but what is the city, county and state government doing about arresting the purveyors of the poison where many addicts get the drug that forces them into crime and maybe an early grave?

Not very much, from what I’m told by cops and prosecutors.

Arizona once set the gold standard for statewide law enforcement that targeted crooked doctors, pharmacists and street dealers and much of it was coordinated with city and county law enforcement agencies. Statewide data was collected on drug arrests and activity. Not anymore.

Jailed addicts aren't committing crimes

As law enforcement weakened and refocused, these once highly successful efforts were dissolved or minimized, making it that much easier for illegal drugs to be sold and for the dope peddlers to escape detection and prosecution.

With the state Legislature’s fixation on immigration enforcement and propping up politically popular and powerful sheriffs became their number one priority, it left a huge hole in statewide drug enforcement.

It’s time for law enforcement to once again focus on those who prey on the innocent.

Local law enforcement is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to addict-driven street crime. When addicts are in jail or submitting to treatment, they’re not committing crimes against you and me. Crime drops and people are safer. It’s that simple.

Let the county attorney and adult probation sort out the sentence and rehabilitation. That’s not the job of the police! Police put criminals in jail.

The state Legislature needs to once again make being under the influence of a narcotic a crime that requires confinement and treatment. It was on the books for years and worked. They need to change the narcotics laws like they did the meth laws 10 years ago.

Without aggressive law enforcement the opioid problem will never shrink to any degree.